Page 26 - Dear aviator...

What you won’t be able to find is a vintage text on human factors; this is a
relatively new field of study which has been applied to aviation and is also in
constant flux, even though there are certain basic tenets that have become
somewhat crystallised in flight training (and which I believe are due for a refresher).
Human factors is, in a nutshell, psychology applied to aviation and has been
mostly introduced in the 1980s in order to define the role of human behaviour in
accidents; this in turn was expanded to explore how aviation in general is affected
by the intricacies and complexities of the human mind. As you can appreciate, it is
still a relatively raw subject and one which is currently being greatly studied.
All of this just to say that as a fledgling aviator, I encourage you to become friends
with your local second hand book dealer… ask them to set aside old books on
aviation. Besides giving you an edge for your exams, it’ll also make your aviation
library look mighty cool.

Requirements for theory classes

This paragraph will be quite short. There’s no real mystery here. If you decide to go
down the route of an integrated or non-integrated aviation course you will be
expected to attend lecture style classes with an instructor explaining the content of
a subject which is, at some point, going to be tested in a written and/or oral exam.
Treat it as a lesson back in school. Listen, don’t interrupt the instructor, don’t be
disruptive, take notes and jot down anything that is unclear and ask for
clarification when you have the opportunity to do so. Just one note: classes are not
the appropriate place to voice any personal grievances you may have with
classmates, instructors or with the school. You are not alone in class and if you
start wasting the instructor’s time you will be wasting your classmates’ time as
well. You really don’t want to do that. If you have issues that you would like to
solve, there will be more appropriate circumstances in which to do so. In class you
are part of a small and potentially tightly knit community; don’t think you are any
more special or any more deserving than anyone else. You are not. I saw at least
two classes completely dissolve because of just a couple of students who were
unable to keep their egos in check and it was their classmates who paid the dearest
price by having their class be broken up and their theory studies disrupted. Some
of them quit aviation altogether. It was truly a tragic affair to witness.
Besides classroom lessons, before each and every flight with an instructor you will
have a more or less detailed briefing designed to go over the purpose of that specific
flight lesson. Listen carefully and take notes to review later on. Sometimes the
instructor may give you some theory material to go over before the flight; do
yourself a favour and follow the instructor’s directions. You’ll get more out of the
lesson and you’ll be able to enjoy the flight as your instructor will be happy that
you did the “homework” they gave you… no one wants a grumpy instructor!

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